Boston

Boston stands on the River Witham near the Wash, where the waterways of the Lincolnshire fens reach the sea. In the Middle Ages its port traded with northern Europe and became a major outlet for English wool. The vast church of St Botolph, with its conspicuous tower, bears witness to the wealth of the merchants and townspeople who built it.

In 1607 a group of religious separatists sought passage from the port of Boston to the Netherlands to escape pressure to conform to the established church. Betrayed and arrested, some of them later succeeded in leaving England; some would become among the passengers of the Mayflower. Boston's great market and river continued to serve the surrounding fenland as the town's fortunes changed.